Dear Neighbors,
I hope you had a wonderful weekend and a blessed Easter holiday spent with friends and family. The legislature was back in full swing this week after our Easter break as we continue working to ensure that the future remains bright for Minnesota and those that live here.
House Republicans Set Budget Targets
Late last month, House Republican leaders unveiled our budget targets for the coming two year state budget. In total, our General Fund budget proposal is $39.9 billion. This is in contrast to the governor’s proposal which calls for a $43 billion budget.
Here are the top line numbers from our proposal:
-
GOP proposal: $39.9 billion
-
Tax relief for Minnesotans: $2 billion
-
Money to budget reserves: $100 million—governor’s budget puts no money in reserves
Ultimately, our budget targets are based on the belief that government spending should not grow faster than family budgets. Data shows that Minnesota families’ budgets increased 12 percent from 2000 to 2013 while Governor Dayton’s proposed budget increases government spending by 75 percent from 2000 until today. In contrast, our budget target increases spending by 1.7 percent.
We set our budget targets with Minnesotans’ values in mind. Our proposal prioritizes education, protecting Minnesotans’ quality of life and bringing needed repairs to our state’s roads and bridges, including $282 million specifically for communities with less than 5,000 residents.
With the Senate, House and Governor all having now released our budget targets, we will begin the process of debating and coming to an agreement on a state budget sometime in the coming month and a half.
Proposed Agriculture Buffer Zones
Governor Dayton continues to stand by his proposal that would require a 50-foot buffer of perennially rooted vegetation adjacent to ditches, rivers, and streams.
The idea behind the 50-foot proposal is to cut down on pollution runoff and improve wildlife habitat. While buffers are an important conservation practice, the governor’s proposal ends up offering many more questions than answers and is simply unworkable in its current form.
Current law requires a 16.5 foot buffer along public ditches, the governor’s plan would triple those requirements.
Amending current law to require a 50-foot buffer would cause farmers to lose approximately 125,000 acres from production without a plan for reimbursement.
Ultimately, farmers care about water quality and have worked with state and federal agencies in the past to ensure that Minnesota’s water meets the expectations that Minnesota citizens have come to expect. However, forcing a one-size-fits all approach on our farmers is not the best approach in achieving these ends.
Constituent Visits
On Tuesday, four students from UMM visited St. Paul to discuss current bills that are being offered. We talked about bills regarding voting, energy and health care. Thank you for coming to St. Paul and sharing your views!
Thank you to Barb Goodhart, Denise Pikarski and Brenda Reed for coming back to St. Paul to testify in front of the Minnesota Senate Education Committee. They talked about the excellent Little T-Birds Pre-K program that the Browns Valley Schools has. I appreciate Senator Westrom for being the chief author in the Senate.
Staying in Touch
If there are any community events that are taking place in the district that you would like to make me aware of or advertise in my weekly update, please contact my office.
Also, please take a moment to complete my 2015 legislative survey. You can complete the survey by visiting my House member page and clicking on the survey link under the "Feedback Wanted" tab on the right side of the page.
If you are planning on being in St. Paul this session, please feel free to contact my office by phone at 651-296-4929 or via email at rep.jeff.backer@house.mn to set up an appointment. I would love to meet with you and talk about ways we can make Minnesota better. Again, it is an honor and privilege to represent you and your family for the next two years. I am here to be YOUR voice in St. Paul and it is a responsibility that I take very seriously.
Thanks and talk to you soon,
Jeff